For Patients and Families
Many different symptoms may be reflective of a gastrointestinal motility disorder. Some common ones include:
| • Aspiration | • Feeding difficulties | |
| • Bloating / abdominal distention | • Gagging | |
| • chest pain (unexplained) | • Heartburn | |
| • Choking | • Persistent vomiting | |
| • Chronic cough | • Recurrent pneumonia | |
| • Constipation | • Regurgitation | |
| • Diarrhea | • Swallowing difficulties | |
| • Fecal Incontinence / Soiling | • Weight loss or appetite loss |
Symptoms often do not provide enough information to accurately predict the location or nature of the disorder. To identify this, the Neurogastroenterology and Motility Disorders team can evaluate one or multiple regions of the digestive tract simultaneously.
Some of the tests that we perform include:
- Esophageal manometry
- Antro-duodenal manometry
- Colonic manometry
- Anal manometry
- pH-impedance probe
- GI transit studies
We also provide biofeedback training to help patients control fecal incontinence. This involves the use of a computer to evaluate the patient’s muscle activity. We then train the patient to understand the muscle control necessary for proper defecation.
